Ripples Set in Motion

As soon as the morning light shone through the window paper, Lu Yuan gathered everyone together. He had a few dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were bright.

"Hiding isn't a solution," he said bluntly. "Maple Leaf Town can't be hidden."

Mo Chen scratched his head, while Shen Moxin adjusted her glasses.

"Lin Xiao is in their hands." Lu Yuan paused. "They'll either question his accomplices or pursue the stolen goods. Lin Xiao is tough; he can hold out for a while—that's our time."

He glanced around. "But time will run out. Once they lose patience, or manage to pry them open, we're finished."

"So?" Mo Chen frowned.

"So we have to take the initiative," Lu Yuan tapped the table with his index finger, "To muddy the waters."

Shen Moxin immediately understood. "Bring in other forces?"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded, "The Cloud Mist Sect is all-powerful, and we're at the biggest disadvantage. If news spreads that the Black Stone Mountain Range 'possess a rare treasure,' and that the Cloud Mist Sect 'suffered a loss and even captured a Mutated Martial Soul genius'..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Mo Chen's eyes lit up, then he frowned. "Too dangerous. What if we attract a tiger?"

"The information should be vague, a mix of truth and falsehood." Lu Yuan had clearly thought it through. "Don't mention what the specific treasure is, just talk about the strange phenomenon and the loss of people from the Cloud Mist Sect. Regarding the prisoners, mention ' Mutated Martial Soul,' but don't go into details. That way, the curious, the bargain hunters, and those with old grudges might all come to take a look."

He paused. "The Cloud Mist Sect will have to focus on dealing with these eyes. If their attention is diverted, their guard over Lin Xiao might loosen, and they might even... hesitate to kill him easily, fearing that his talent or secrets might fall into the hands of their enemies."

The main room was silent for a few seconds.

Lu Qinghe rubbed his calloused hands and muttered, "It was dangerous, but hiding would just mean certain death."

Shen Moxin tapped her chin with her fingertip, a habit she had when pondering things. "How do we send the message? We can't show our faces."

"Use Soul Tool." Lu Yuan looked at Mo Chen. "Make some small gadgets that can send messages over short distances. Carve them onto wooden or stone tablets, trigger them with Soul Power, and throw them at intersections, bulletin boards, or near taverns. Keep them simple, like they were made temporarily, and don't have any distinctive features."

Mo Chen got excited. "I'm good at this! Two hours will be enough. Use scraps to make ' Crisp-Sound Talisman,' stick them to the back of wooden pieces, and they'll break at a set time or with vibration, sending the wooden pieces flying. Then make ' Sliding-Rail Box,' stuff them into the cracks in the stones, and when triggered by Soul Power, the stone pieces will slide onto the road..."

He spoke faster and faster, gesturing with his fingers.

"Father knows the terrain well." Lu Yuan turned to Lu Qinghe, "Mo Chen, get ready. You two go tonight. Leave some at the main intersections of Maple Leaf Town, and also leave some at nearby Blue Stone Town and Falling Goose Pass. Avoid the places the Cloud Mist Sect frequents, and specifically choose places with many people and lots of eyes."

Lu Qinghe nodded. "Okay."

"Teacher Shen and I will stay behind," Lu Yuan said. "Let's finalize Su Yan's attack plan as soon as possible. Mr. Wen, continue to keep an eye on the situation."

Mentor Wen had been listening quietly until now, when he finally spoke, "Taking a risk is risky, but passively waiting is a dead end. I agree."

Shen Moxin. "The message needs to be carefully analyzed. What's true, what's false, and how vague should the ambiguity be? It needs to be alluring, but not like a trap."

"You oversee this," Lu Yuan said, handing the task directly to her.

Mo Chen plunged into the work shed.

The clanging and fluctuations of Soul Power echoed all morning. At noon, he emerged with a head full of dandruff, carrying several small items in his hands.

Two palm-sized thin wooden boxes, their surfaces rough as if they had been casually planed. Several thin stone slabs, one side of which had been ground flat, with angular edges. And a few button-like metal pieces.

"The core of the ' Crisp-Sound Talisman ' is inside the wooden box, glued with pine resin. It cracks under pressure, the lid pops open, and the wooden piece inside falls out." Mo Chen spoke rapidly. "The back of the stone piece is engraved with micro-channels. When it's inserted into a crack in the stone, a Soul Master passing by will activate their Soul Power, and the channels will generate a thrust, allowing the stone piece to slowly slide out. The metal piece is a spare, placed in a corner. It will heat up when Soul Power sweeps over it—but this is unstable and might not be useful."

Lu Yuan weighed the wooden box in his hand. It was very light, and the workmanship was shoddy.

Shen Moxin drafted the document. Her handwriting, written with charcoal sticks, mimicked the hasty tone of everyday gossip.

[A strange light shot into the sky a month ago from the northern foothills of the Black Stone Mountain Range, suspected to be an ancient relic appearing in the world. The Cloud Mist Sect sent elite troops to investigate, but suffered several casualties and returned in disarray. It is said that they abducted a young man with a unique Martial Soul, seemingly showing signs of mutation, who is currently being held captive in the mountains. The authenticity of the treasure is unknown, but the Cloud Mist Sect's tight security suggests that it may be hiding something of great value.]

Another version, shorter, is inscribed on the stone tablet. "[The Cloud Mist Sect suffered a loss at Black Stone Mountain, capturing a strange Martial Soul youth. There might be something good in the mountain.]"

Lu Yuan read it twice. "Okay. It's vague, but it mentions the key points: strange phenomena, losses, prisoners, Mutated Martial Soul. It doesn't mention specific locations or us."

He looked at Mo Chen. "Carve it. Prepare ten pieces each of wood and stone. Change the content slightly, don't make them all the same."

As night falls, the lights in the old house are turned off early.

Midnight was past midnight when two dark figures climbed over the low wall in the backyard and disappeared into the night.

Lu Qinghe led the way. He had lived here for most of his life and knew the way even with his eyes closed. Mo Chen followed, carrying those little trinkets in his arms, his Soul Power concealed, his steps light and stealthy.

The first spot is under the old locust tree at the west end. The townspeople often chat here.

Mo Chen took out a stone slab with inscriptions carved on it, and with a slight release of his Soul Power from his fingertips, pressed it deep into a crack in the tree trunk. The guide groove on the back of the stone slab made contact with the wood grain and quietly "embedded" itself in, undetectable unless you touched it carefully.

"Let's go," Lu Qinghe said in a low voice.

The two turned out of town. The second spot was at the fork in the road leading to Blue Stone Town, where there was a half-person-high directional stone tablet. Mo Chen used pine resin to stick a small wooden box on the bottom back of the stone tablet and sprinkled some dirt and ash on the outside to cover it up.

Then the third, the fourth...

They specifically target places where pedestrians might linger and look: abandoned teahouse pillars, under the incense burner of a roadside mountain temple, and piles of debris in the back alleys of a town tavern.

After placing each one, Mo Chen carefully sensed the surroundings to confirm that there was no abnormal residual Soul Power. Lu Qinghe kept watch, his eyes, worn clouded by life, shining frighteningly bright in the night.

Falling Goose Pass is a market for Soul Master; it's risky, but news travels fast.

The two waited in the woods outside town until late at night, after the bustling market hours had passed, before sneaking in.

The notice board was important. Mo Chen didn't dare to post it, so he stuffed the stone shard into the gap at the bottom of the railing. He also stuck a small wooden box on the eaves of the side window of the all-night tavern at the market entrance. The window was frequently opened and closed, so the vibrations were enough to trigger it.

The entire process was quiet and swift.

On their return journey, the sky was beginning to lighten. The two took a longer route, passing through the woods to the north, and carefully washed their hands in the stream outside the town.

Back in the courtyard, behind the east wing window, Lu Yuan and Shen Moxin. Seeing that the two had returned safely, Shen Moxin breathed a sigh of relief.

"They've all been placed." Mo Chen lowered his voice, unable to hide his excitement. "Twelve spots, half wooden pieces and half stone pieces. The locations are all as you said, easy to find yet inconspicuous."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Rest. Everything will be as usual after dawn."

For the next two days, the old house appeared calm on the surface, but beneath, tension was running high.

Su Yan and Li Wangye doubled their training intensity. Lu Yuan used diluted Soul Marrow Essence to assist them and guide them in breaking through their Soul Power nodes. The process was extremely arduous, and the two teenagers gritted their teeth and endured it, feeling like they had been pulled out of water each time they finished.

Mo Chen tends to his old injuries while improving the prototype of a short-range communication tool. Shen Moxin refines the theoretical framework, Mentor Wen teaches the basics and keeps an eye on changes in the town.

Lu Qinghe went to the fields and did his usual shopping every day, listening attentively to idle chatter.

The first day, nothing unusual happened.

The next evening, Lu Qinghe returned and said that the blacksmith shop in town had received an urgent order to repair weapons for a few out-of-towners. "They don't look like caravan guards, but rather like people who often go out into the mountains," he described the men's attire and accent.

Mentor Wen seemed to be deep in thought.

On the third day, things changed.

Mentor Wen went to buy paper and pens in the morning and sat in the tavern for half an hour. When he returned, he walked hurriedly, his eyes gleaming.

"There's a lot of talk about it in the tavern," he said as soon as he entered the main room, his voice low. "Several tables are discussing the Black Stone Mountain Range. Some hunters said they saw something strange in the northern sky a while ago—there was light. Others are saying that the Cloud Mist Sect suffered a setback and lost men."

He paused, his tone growing more serious. "I saw two unfamiliar faces. Their clothes weren't local, their Soul Power was considerable, and they sat in a corner listening to people talk, barely saying a word themselves. The style of the swords at their waists... wasn't typical of the Cloud Mist Sect."

Shen Moxin immediately asked, "Can you tell which side it is?"

"I can't tell for sure," Mentor Wen shook his head, "But they're definitely not from the Cloud Mist Sect. When they heard people talking about the Cloud Mist Sect suffering losses, their lips curled down, and that expression... didn't seem like their style."

Lu Yuan listened in silence, his index finger tapping unconsciously on his knee.

In the afternoon, Lu Qinghe returned from the fields with news. "A peddler selling medicinal herbs came to the town entrance and chatted with some people, saying that he had heard something interesting at Falling Goose Pass a few days ago: someone found an inscribed stone tablet in the mountains, which contained embarrassing stories about the Cloud Mist Sect. He told it as a joke, and quite a few people listened."

Mo Chen's eyes lit up. "The stone fragment has been discovered!"

"More than that." Lu Qinghe's expression was grave. "I saw a figure in the distance, high up in the woods outside the town, looking towards the Black Stone Mountain Range. He was dressed in drab gray, but his posture and the way he was surveying the terrain didn't seem like that of an ordinary hunter."

Shen Moxin looked at Lu Yuan: "We're starting to collect the fish."

Lu Yuan got up and walked to the small east-facing window in the main room. He pushed open the window, and the evening breeze brought a cool breeze. He looked at the town entrance in the distance, where wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, seemingly peaceful.

But beneath the calm surface, undercurrents are already stirring.

"The bait's been cast," he said softly, his voice calm yet sharp. "Now, let's see which fish can't resist coming closer, and..."

He paused.

How will the Cloud Mist Sect react?

Outside the window, dusk was settling in. The distant mountains were blurred, like a lurking beast.

A subtle and dangerous multi-party game, secretly orchestrated by them, quietly began in the twilight.